An Englewood locksmith company that was accused of overcharging consumers for its services has agreed to pay $100,000 to customers who complained of being duped by the company.

The payment is the result of a lawsuit filed by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office against Basad, Inc., alleging that while Basad disclosed their $55 service charge for a car lockout, it failed to alert customers of additional charges that exceeded the service charge.

Consumers complained of receiving an initial estimate of $55 but were charged $110 or more after the locksmith opened their doors.

Customers also alleged that Basad failed to honor their advertised “20-minute response time,” often leaving people requesting their assistance waiting for several hours.

A total of 85 people were victimized by the company, the attorney general alleged. Of those, 50 were in Colorado.

Mike Saccone, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said that Basad did work outside of Colorado but that all calls for assistance were routed through the Englewood office.

During the investigation, the attorney general’s office discovered that Basad advertised locksmith services doing business as A 24 7 Locksmith and Ocean Locksmith.

Full-page yellow page advertisements for the separately named companies all ring to the same Englewood office.

Under the settlement, Basad will be required to disclose to customers during the initial sales call that there will be additional charges, such as labor or lockout fees, in addition to its service call fee.

Basad is also prohibited from representing in ads any specific response time. The settlement also requires Basad to record all phone calls between consumers and the dispatchers in its Englewood office for a full year.

The recordings will be reviewed by the attorney general’s office to make sure the company is complying with the settlement.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said that all consumers deserve a “reasonable estimate of any services they request” from a locksmith or other company.

“This settlement should send a message that companies that routinely mislead Colorado consumers should understand we do not tolerate deceptive business practices”, said Suthers.